Peewee Chinooks begin 2016/17 season with 3 wins and a loss

Peewee Chinooks vs Claresholm and Fort Macleod

Chris Davis - Pincher Creek's Peewee Chinooks began their 2016/17 season with three Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL) tiering round wins in a row against Crowsnest Pass, Claresholm, and Nanton, which was followed by a squeaker one goal loss to Fort Macleod that was decided in the final seconds of the game.


For their first game of the season the Chinooks travelled to Coleman on Saturday October 15 to play the Crowsnest Pass Thunder.  The Chinooks won that game 4-0 with a goal in each of the first two periods and two goals in the third.  Chinooks #8 Rhett Fitzpatrick gets the bragging rights for the team's first goal of the season, late in the first period, assisted by #18 Shenoa Jessen.  Jessen scored a powerplay goal in the second period, assisted by Chinooks #2 Jaron Scotton.  Rhett Fitzpatrick scored his second goal of the game with 2:27 remaining in the third, assisted by #21 Kieran Randall and #4 Drew Stuckey.  To ice the cake (but not the puck), Jaron Scotton scored with just 26 seconds left in the game, assisted by Fitzpatrick and #28 Cory Dyck.  Chinooks goalie Koltyn Kipling shut out 19 shots.  Thunder goalie Darcy Wemp was also a dynamo in net, letting in only 4 of 40 shots.

Chinooks vs Claresholm

The Chinooks held their home opener against Claresholm the next day, Sunday October 16, in front of a small but appreciative hometown crowd.  The Chinooks were on the offensive from the first puck drop, ultimately winning 10-4.  Rhett Fitzpatrick scored three times, and Jaron Scotton and Drew Stuckey each scored twice.  Also scoring for the Chinooks were Colton Kirkman, Joah Randall and Cory Dyck.  Kieran Randall earned three assists.  Also earning assists for the Chinooks were Scotton and Kirkman with two apiece, and Fitzpatrick, Stuckey, Joah Randall, and Carter Neufeld-Shea.

On Saturday October 22 the Chinooks travelled to the Tom Hornecker Rec Center, where they defeated the Nanton team 8-3.  Drew Stuckey scored thrice and Jaron Scotton scored twice. Also scoring for the Chinooks were Walker Anderson, Rhett Fitzpatrick, and Jaydon Draper.  Earning assists were Chinooks Stuckey, Anderson, Fitzpatrick, and Shenoa Jessen.

Chinooks vs Fort Macleod

The next day the Chinooks brought it back home again to host Fort Macleod's Mustangs for a real rock and roll game between two very well matched teams.  A strong rally by the Mustangs in the final period ended up costing the Chinooks the game, which ended 6-5 for the Mustangs. The Mustangs scored twice in the first period and four times in the final period.  The Chinooks scored once in the first and once in the third, giving it their all in the second when they scored three goals.  The tie-breaking Mustangs goal came from #20 Joaquin Four Horns with only 7 seconds left on the clock.  It was his fourth goal of the game.  Rhett Fitzpatrick and Drew Stuckey each scored twice for  the Chinooks.  Fitzpatrick earned two assists and Stuckey earned one to add to those tallies.  Jaron Scotton also scored for the Chinooks, and Carter Neufeld-Shea also earned an assist.  Heartbreaker ending for the hometown team, but this looked like the game of the week to me, fast paced, clean, and intelligently played by both benches.

The Peewee Chinooks are scheduled to be back on home ice at the MCC this Saturday October 29 for another tiering round game against a currently undetermined opponent, to start at 1:00 pm.